The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee announced on Wednesday that it will hold a hearing on the confirmation of John Ring to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on February 14.
Ring is a management-side labor attorney for the firm Morgan Lewis and has extensive experience in labor law. If confirmed, he would take over former Chairman Phil Miscimarra’s seat. Miscimarra cycled off the Board on December 16. Once confirmed by the HELP Committee, Ring's nomination would go to the full Senate.
The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW), of which APCA is a member, strongly supports John Ring’s nomination and plans to send a letter to the committee encouraging his quick confirmation.
When Ring was nominated in January, the CDW released the following statement from Kristen Swearingen:
"CDW commends the President’s announcement stating his intent to nominate John F. Ring as a member of the National Labor Relations Board. Ring has worked with employees and employers over several decades in his respected career. His experience will enable him to quickly join Republican board members William Emanuel and Marvin Kaplan in restoring objectivity to what has become, in recent years, an activist panel.
"CDW believes Ring is highly qualified to build on the progress the board made prior to Chairman Miscimarra’s departure. Perhaps most notably, the board’s decision in Hy-Brand Industrial Contractors, Ltd.--which overturned the board’s radical decision in Browning-Ferris Industries concerning what constitutes joint employment--signifies a new era for the board focused on implementing a balanced approach to federal labor policy.
"CDW is hopeful Ring will be confirmed by the Senate by early Spring, considering the board’s current deadlock. We urge the Senate to act expeditiously, so the board can continue to interpret the National Labor Relations Act in a manner that respects the rights of both workers and employers, ushering in a new period of economic progress for all Americans."
